India: Factories move to continue despite protests

Protests by farmers will not deter India’s communists from clearing farms to build factories in eastern India, a top official said, hours after a policeman was killed by demonstrators near the site of a proposed industrial park.

Plans by the communist-led government of West Bengal to acquire thousands of acres of farmland for projects such as a car factory and a petrochemical plant have repeatedly provoked violent protests, raising concerns that foreign investors could be scared off.